Here's 23 free game prototypes from the creators of Totally Accurate Battle Simulator
An interesting look inside development in a cute package from indie studio Landfall.
Indie development studio Landfall has made a big collection of their unfinished and unreleased game prototypes from years of development, including an unreleased version of Totally Accurate Battle Simulator that dates back to 2017. Landfall has made a name for themselves in the past few years with TABS, as well as games like Clustertruck and Totally Accurate Battlegrounds.
The collection includes "every project Landfall and friends have worked on since 2016 that didn't make it to the shelves but which all deserve to see the light of day," says the developer. It's a remarkable little collection full of weird stuff to do and try out, from physics-based puzzles and building games to unsettling horror and a highly conceptual RTS.
"Break into the Landfall Archives to steal and play previously unreleased games, demos, interactive slide shows, and even an unreleased version of Totally Accurate Battle Simulator from 2017!," says the developer of their release here.
Highlights for me were Robots Forever 1 & 2, games around shooting off modular robots' bits, and Post game, about making a factory of conveyor belts to move packages around. There's also two iterations of a game about building modular airships, as well as a really brilliantly exciting prototype about making and controlling your own walking castle—one I think was brilliant but would have been a long-term development nightmare.
Other standouts include Blob Game, which I recommend just... going and experiencing. Here's your description for it: "A small experience of being locked in a room with an unknown creature while a voice speaks to you. There are a few different endings to this game, can you find them all?"
Then there's local PvP shooter Wrecktangels, a "Simple side-view battle game where you jump and shoot each other while using a time-slow mechanic. The world is built out of objects that collapse and break apart as they are hit, to keep you on your toes!" Definitely one of those short, sweet experiences that's good goofy fun.
You can find Landfall Archives for free on Steam.
Elaborate April Fools jokes have become something of an annual stunt with Landfall, having released several joke DLC and games in the past on April 1st. In 2020 it was a DLC of optional "bugs" for Totally Accurate Battle Simulator. In 2021, a goofy 1v1 roguelite shooter called Rounds. In 2022, it was the delightful Knightfall: A Daring Journey, which is a game about knights racing and includes horse drifting. Yes, that's as cool as it sounds.